Him
by StrikeLightning
Summary: AU. When the Crown Prince of Iwatobi, Haruka Nanase, is betrothed to a Samezuka princess, Gou Matsuoka, the young prince must decide which his more important. His duty to the people? Or love? MakoHaru, RinHaru, SouRin.
1. Chapter 1

**Aloha my darlings, this story was inspired by a picture I saw, I can't name the artist but it was enough to give me the damn plot bunny. This is my first Free! fic, at least the first one I published, and I'm publishing it for Christmas, for all you guys, but also for my dear friend Lu-chan.**

**In regards to pairings, I don't know where it will end, because this is very spontaneous and not planned. For those who know of my OTP don't assume that it will end in that way; it may not be the case, lest I would have just written them in the first place. In short, there is no final couple as of yet, but perhaps audience opinion will sway me, who knows. **

**Anyway - this AU is one of my absolute favourites because I love period things and castles and fairytales and, like, dragons and shit. There will be dragons in this, can I get a hell yes? Absolute total fantasy AU people. **

**I really hope you enjoy it, sorry for my stupidly long AN, they won't always be this long I swear. For all my old readers, hey bitches long time no see, eh?**

**WARNINGS: For later chapters, graphic detail of anatomy, sex, violence, swear words, blood, dragons and other scary things, etc. M rated for reasons people.**

**DISCLAIMER: Free! Iwatobi Swim Club belongs to Hiroko Utsumi, but everyone and their uncle knows full well that Rin belongs to yours fucking truly. **

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**_Curiosity killed the cat. But knowing brought it back._**

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The crowds of people lining the streets screamed in a delight that was not truly theirs. Haru stood silent as his father stood on the balcony of their palace, addressing the nation he had summoned to hear him speak. Roses showered over them as he stood rigidly beside his father, every hair on his forehead in perfect place, his clothing immaculately white and blue (their kingdom's primary colours). His face was expressionless as he stared not at the people, but at the sky in front of him. When his father raised his hand into the air, the noise ceased to exist, and there was no sound but for the wind blowing in his ears.

"Glorious people of Iwatobi," he called strongly, "I am sure you are all wondering why I called you here today, and so I will get straight to the point!"

Brilliant.

"I am here to say that this is a day of great celebration," he continued, "A day in which we have decided to join the two powers of the world, Iwatobi and Samezuka, together once and for all! To end the war and poverty in both kingdoms and bring about peace to our people! I know that in the past Queen Matsuoka has brought upon us great strife, but we returned the favour! Both sides have suffered and it is finally time to make truce!"

He gestured grandly to Haru, who stood beside him silently.

"Your crown Prince Haruka is to be wed to the Queen's only daughter, Princess Gou, in three days time!"

Without another word, his father turned on his feet and walked back into the palace, the cheers of the crowd behind him. Haru waiting until his father had walked past him to follow in his steps and fall in pace beside him.

"I don't understand why they were so happy," said Haru bluntly, once the noise had died out, the deeper they go into the palace.

"Many of them have never known anything but war, Haruka," replied his father, "If ending the war through your marriage brings peace to them, they will sing our praises for hundreds of years."

"But I don't want to marry a Matsuoka," said Haru, as he had a thousand times.

His father stopped, and turned, placing his hands on his son's shoulders in a placating gesture. His expression was sympathetic, yet unyielding, and Haru knew right then that no matter how much his father loved him, no matter how much he did or did not understand, he would not be moved on the subject. Not at all.

"Gou is a beautiful young woman," he told Haru, "She is not to blame for the death of our people, or our ancestors. You must learn this now, or your marriage will never be happy."

"I've never even met her," said Haru, "How could I be happy?"

"I never met your mother before the wedding day," he told him, "And look at us; we fell in love eventually."

"I could never fall in love with her," he mumbled quietly, "She'll have the same features, the red hair, the red eyes..."

His father sighed, and patted him on the shoulder lightly. "I'm sorry son, I know this is a lot to ask of you. But think of the lives you'll save. And she isn't one of those monsters from the armies; she's just a little girl."

Haru nodded in acceptance and the two continued on their way. They separated when they reached the Megaron, as his father had many important duties to see to, and as he so often found it, Haru was alone again, feeling the remnants of the dejection he'd felt from his father informing him of the marriage. He crossed to the long banquet table, and sat down, covering his face with his hands and closing his eyes, deep in thought.

In fact, he was so out of it, he wasn't aware of the company, and it was not until a hot wave of mackerel filled his nostrils that he even opened his eyes. There was a silver platter before him, a just-cooked mackerel sitting whole on top, a pair of hands either side of it. He turned around to find himself face to face with his closest friend.

"Mako," he acknowledged.

Sir Makoto Tachibana took a few steps back to allow Haru to take in his appearance. It was no different from usual, the gleaming silver armour, with the intricate gold carvings, and the blue, woollen cloak that flowed behind him. Haru liked the cloaks, it was like the Knights of Iwatobi took a piece of him around with them. At his waist was his sword, the hilt encrusted with beautiful sapphires, and Haru let a rare, small smile grace his expression as he looked upon his lifelong friend.

"Don't sound too happy to see me," joked Mako.

Haru turned back around, his gaze returning to the mackerel. Without another word, he grabbed his cutlery and dug in. Mako chuckled affectionately, and crossed round the table so that he could seat himself opposite Haru. All he could say was that it was a good job it didn't bother him when people watched him eat, because Mako's gaze was unmoving from his face. They sat in companionable silence for a few minutes whilst Haru ate, but there was a subject hanging in the air, one Haru knew would be unavoidable. And so he initiated it.

"You knew about the marriage before me, didn't you?" The statement was not an outright accusation, but Haru felt himself unable to keep it slipping into his tone ever so slightly.

Mako had the decency to look incredibly guilty, and he sighed to himself. "I had my suspicions," he said honestly, "Though I didn't think it would be... this soon."

"Hm," was all he got in reply.

"Haru?"

"What?"

"Are you okay?"

Haru put down his fork and looked up at Mako, whose face was warped with worry, guilt, and apology. He knew he was taking his moodiness out on Mako, which was unfair in the grand scheme of things – Mako never decided on that arrangement.

"I'm fine," he told him firmly.

"Are you sur-"

"I'm glad you're back from your expedition, Mako," he interrupted. Mako's eyes widened for a moment, before the easy smile fell back onto his face, and he went back to watching Haru eat, both knowingly avoiding the subject that was both playing on their minds. It wasn't just that his betrothed was a Matsuoka. Oh no, it was much more than that.

His betrothed was also a girl.

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**I hope you like it so far! The chapters will probably get longer the more I get into it, but this is just a general introduction. So far we have a grand total of approximately 2 Free! characters, and a fair warning - I will be dishing them out slower than you'd probably like. See you in 10 years Nagisa. Jk.**

**Or was I joking? How the fuck would you know, huh?**


	2. Chapter 2

**Ayyyyy**

**Just a heads up, Rin and Gou will be appearing NEXT chapter.**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Free! but I do, in fact, own Rin's lower half. I purchased it on the Deep Web. Please PM if you would like your own piece of him.**

...

The next day, Haru awoke early as usual, and when Mako found him, he was writhing around gracefully in his purpose-built bath tub. He blinked and lifted his hand from the water, for Mako to pull him out of it, which he did so immediately, handing his prince a fluffy white towel as he did.

"You're here early," noted Haru.

"How often do I get this much free time?" reminded Mako, "Since Princess Gou is arriving tomorrow, they have everyone here, preparing for it."

"And yet you're here talking to me," said Haru moodily.

"You father said I was to keep you happy," said Mako sheepishly, "Looks like I'm not doing a very good job so far."

Haru regarded this fairly – his father was right of course, if anyone would keep Haru's mood lifted, it would probably be Mako. He had an unusual personality, one not many knew how to handle, or even wanted to, but Mako had never found Haru to be difficult or an annoyance at all. As a Knight, unlike most of the royal court, Mako had no obligation to be a kiss ass, or be his friend. But their friendship long predated the days when Mako held a sword in his hands. Haru had been glad when Mako had told him he was going to train as a Knight – Knighthoods were made for people as chivalrous as Makoto.

"But this might cheer you up," offered Mako, "Prince Rin is going to be the envoy!"

Haru's heart dropped. Oh how he wished it was not so – that was one thing Mako wouldn't understand. When Rin arrived Mako would expect him to hug Haru, to tell him he'd missed him, but that wouldn't be how it worked. Rin would glare, would be insulting, rude, because he had burned the bridge between them long ago. As though the situation were not bad enough as it was, Haru would have to see the person who loathed him more than anything else in the world.

"Mako," said Haru quietly, "I've decided what I want to do today."

"Yes?"

"I want to go swimming."

**Flashback**

_"Our families hate each other," pointed Haru, "If they knew we were friends they'd kill us."_

_"R-Really?" yelped Mako, "But we're children! We're... We won't really get in trouble will we?"_

_"Of course we will!" exclaimed Rin excitedly, pulling a branch from the ground and holding it in two hands like a sword, "I expect they'll hunt us down, so we'll have to fight them off. We'll teach those royal losers that we're in charge now. They'll not separate us, you hear?"_

_Mako brightened at the prospect. As usual, Rin's illogical yet charismatic rants worked their magic over him._

_Haru leaned back against the tree contentedly, listening to Rin rant nonsense and Mako blindly believe they were going to end up in some sort of death match between the soldiers. Of course, what they were doing was not safe, but then chance had brought them across each other. Haru and Mako had wandered into the woods, too far in, and Rin had wandered away from his army's camp, and before they knew it they had met, and become the best of friends. _

_Haru looked out at the river, marvelling at how the sun reflected off the water. Such was the magnificence of water; an element he believed was much too underrated. He tuned out the other two, watching it with quiet appreciation. Then he saw it._

_"Rin, Mako."_

_"Yeah?" called Rin._

_"There is a dead body floating in the water," he said gravely, getting to his feet, his face uncharacteristically expressive._

_He felt Mako grab his upper arm. "Oh no! Who do you suppose did this?"_

_"We did," said Haru quietly, "Because that is not one of our soldiers, Mako."_

_"No," agreed Rin, "It's one of mine."_

_They all looked at each other, for once understanding the gravity of the situation. Their families were at war, and they were playing together in the woods. One day Rin and Haru would be kings..._

_"We'll never fight," decided Rin, "When we're kings, this... This war is over, you hear?"_

_"Haru we need to go," insisted Mako, "It's not safe here."_

_"Rin won't hurt us," argued Haru._

_"Not Rin," said Mako with a shake of his head, "We're in the midst of a battle."_

_"We can't leave him here," said Haru._

_"Don't worry about me," laughed Rin, "I'm a ninja, I can't be seen, yeah? I don't think we'll be able to play for a while, but you're still my very best friend Haru." _

_"Haru," called Mako urgently._

_Rin grabbed Haru around the back of his head, and touched their forehead together. _

_"You're my best friend, Haru." _

_Despite the smile, there was a seriousness in his eyes that caused Haru's expression to soften, he said nothing, merely looking at Rin as though he was truly as wonderful as water. Then Rin released him._

_"You'll get Mako in trouble if you don't go back now," he warned, "I'll see you two again."_

_He turned and disappeared into the trees and the bushes. Haru had allowed Mako to drag him back to the palace, where upon arrival; they were informed that King Matsuoka had fallen in battle. That night, Haru had snuck out into the woods to find Rin, and he had, and he would always remember it because that was the first and last time anyone had ever struck him, and that was the night he lost his friend. _

Haru surfaced and rolled onto his back, floating in the river quietly, the cool water trickling down his face. Mako was swimming about beside him, content to just let Haru swim in peace, as the prince always looked happiest when he was in the water. He landed vertically and began to tread water when he felt Haru jump onto his back, wrapping his arms round his chest and resting his chin on Mako's shoulder. The action didn't startle Mako; he was used to it.

"The wedding will be huge," complained Haru, "Do you think they'll let me leave the wedding early?"

"Early?" laughed Mako, "You're marrying a Matsuoka; they have their own conventions they'll bring with them."

"Like what?" demanded Haru.

"You'll have to stay up for the entire duration, and then the men will pick Gou up and carry her to your bed."

"Excuse me?"

"And the woman drag you after her," confirmed Mako, "Personally, I think it's a little derogatory and crude, especially given she's a princess, but marriage consummation is very important to their family, so I suppose..."

"Never mind her," said Haru moodily, "What about me? I don't want to have sex, it doesn't interest me."

"There isn't really a way for you to get around it," sighed Mako, "They will check the next morning. Whatever relationship you'll have with the girl, it's best if you at least play it safe for now. She might not want to have sex with you either, but it's the duty of both of you. You can apologize later."

"Apologize?" asked Haru.

"It will hurt her far more than it will hurt you," said Mako, "Just be gentle with her."

They were silent for another moment, and then Haru released his hold on Mako, floating once more in the water.

"Do you think Rin made this deal with Father?" asked Haru.

"Of course not," laughed Mako, "It was only between the King and Queen Matsuoka. Though I wouldn't put it past him to do it so you two could be brothers."

Because that's exactly why he would have done it. Would Rin exact some sort of revenge? Or would he wait until Haru himself was king?

"We should go back," said Mako, "What if the envoy arrived early, we don't want to receive them dripping wet, now, do we?"

Haru said nothing, simply swimming over to the bank and pulling his clothes on. They stuck to him, his hair dripping onto his face, and he shook his head, water droplets flying everywhere.

"Haru," complained Mako, "I brought towels with us."

"The water gives me strength," he said with perfect seriousness.

He waited whilst Mako himself dried off before they headed back to the palace together. The envoy were not early, but it was just as well. Tomorrow marked the end of Haru's pleasant life, before the Matsuoka people plagued his very walls.

Mako was just about to leave Haru for the night, when he reached out and grabbed his arm. Mako looked back at him with such concern it hardened his resolve.

"Mako."

"Are you okay?"

"Kiss me."

He stared unblinkingly as a dark blush spread across Mako's face. When the man made no attempt to do anything, seemingly frozen in shock, Haru stepped forward and kissed him. It was sweet, and nice and it made Haru feel warm, as though someone was wrapping him up in fur. He did not particularly want to end the kiss, but he had to remember he hadn't Mako's permission in the first place.

"I'm sorry," he said, breaking away, "I just wanted to kiss someone who loved me before tomorrow."

Mako gave him a sad smile. "I'll never leave you, my prince... Goodnight."

Haru turned and, still soaking wet, threw himself into bed. There was really no point worrying over the coming days – they were going to happen whether he wanted them to or not. Mako was right, he had a duty to fulfil. It was war that had cost him his friendship with Rin, and if marrying Gou stopped others from being torn apart, then he was willing to make that sacrifice.

Drifting off to sleep, he silently prayed that Gou Matsuoka was a fan of water.

...

**We know why Haru kissed Mako, but what are Mako's feelings on the subject? Stay tuned, bitches.**


End file.
